Spokesperson attributes them to extreme heat, placement under direct light and possible mishandling by polling staff using it for the machines for the first time

The Election Commission responded to the reports saying that the claims of large-scale malfunctioning were an “exaggerated projection of reality”. But the Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh also admitted in a statement that the commission received complaints of malfunctioning of VVPAT machines from 384 polling stations in Kairana following which replacement machines were used. This caused delays in polling in more than a few places.

The VVPAT replacement rate, due to glitches in the machines that were deployed, was as high as 20.82% (way above the 5% limit seen as acceptable by the EC) in Kairana, 19.22% in Bhandara-Gondia and 13.16% in Palghar.

Allegations of largescale malfunctioning of VVPATs and EVMs were reported from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra during Monday’s bypolls for four Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats across 10 States.

The Election Commission (EC), however, termed them an exaggerated projection of reality, stating that defective machines were replaced.

The counting for all the seats will be on May 31.

Elections were also conducted in R.R. Nagar in Bengaluru, where polling had been deferred following allegations of electoral malpractice by political parties.

According to the EC, only 96 ballot and 84 control units of EVMs, besides 1,202 VVPATs had to be replaced. “It amounts to 0.76% of the ballot units, 0.81% control units and 11.60% of total VVPATs,” said an official.

The highest number of VVPATS (20.82%) were replaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana parliamentary constituency, followed by 19.22% in the Bhandara-Gondiya and 13.16% in the Palghar Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra.

With the Opposition hoping to repeat the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha byelection victories of the Samajwadi Party, backed by the BSP, the focus was sharply on Kairana.

The constituency, however, reported a low turnout if 54.17% till 6 p.m.

The highest of turnout of 90.42% was recorded in Meghalaya’s Ampati Assembly constituency, followed by 76.60% in Shahkot and 75% in the Nagaland Lok Sabha constituency. In Maharashtra’s Bhandara-Gondiya, the turnout was 38.65% till 6 p.m. while in Palghar it stood at 46.5% till 5 pm.

Following reports of VVPAT malfunctions, a joint delegation of the RLD, SP and the Congress, besides a separate BJP delegation, met the EC. The Commission told them that VVPAT-related complaints had been attended to on the ground and that the issues raised by them would also be addressed.

Stating that there was no abnormality in EVM malfunctions, The Commission said VVPAT glitches were higher than the normal in Kairana and the Noorpur Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh; and Bhandara-Gondiya.

“The VVPAT malfunctions could be due to first-time use by polling staff, extreme heat conditions, placement of machines under direct light and mishandling during use. The EC conducts root-cause analyses in such cases to improve in future,” the EC said.

However, former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and leaders of the Shiv Sena and NCP demanded restoration of ballot paper.

A total of 2,651 EVM control units, equal number of ballot units and 2,596 VVPATs were deployed in Kairana and Noorpur. In all, 384 VVPATs were replaced, and over 15 EVMs were also changed.

In Maharashtra, 4,246 EVMs and 5,360 VVPATs were used in Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya. 276 of the total 2,608 VVPATs were replaced in Palghar. Responding to reports of machine malfunctions, Palghar District Collector Dr. Prashant Narnaware said VVPATs were sensitive to light and heat.

The BJP, the Congress, the BSP, the NCP, the CPI and the CPI(M) were brought under the RTI Act by a Central Information Commission ruling on June 3, 2013.

Political parties are out of the purview of the RTI Act, the Election Commission has said in an order which is contrary to the Central Information Commission’s directive bringing six national parties under the transparency law.

The poll panel statement, which may prove to be controversial, came while deciding the appeal of an RTI applicant seeking to know donations collected by six national parties who were brought under the ambit of the transparency law by the CIC in June 2013.

“Requisite information is not available in the Commission. This is related to political parties and they are out of purview of the RTI. They may submit information of donation/amount collected through by electoral bonds in their contribution report for the financial year 2017-18 in the ECI for which the due date is September 30, 2018,” the appeal order citing comment of the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) has said. Pune-based Vihar Dhurve had sought to know through RTI the details of donations collected by six national parties — the BJP, the Congress, the BSP, the NCP, the CPI and the CPI(M) — and the Samajwadi Party through the newly-introduced electoral bonds.

The First Appellate Authority in the Election Commission K.F. Wilfred, the Senior Principal Secretary in the poll panel, wrote in the order that he agrees with the view taken by the CPIO.

Six national parties — the BJP, the Congress, the BSP, the NCP, the CPI and the CPI(M) — for which information was sought by the applicant were brought under the ambit of the RTI Actby a full bench of the commission on June 3, 2013. (The Trinamool Congress was recognised as the seventh national party in September 2016).

The order has not been challenged in the higher courts but the political parties have refused to entertain the RTI applications directed at them. Several activists have approached the Supreme Court on the grounds of non-compliance of the CIC order and the matter is pending.

When it comes to the RTI Act, the Central Information Commission is the only appellate authority which may declare a body as public authority if it is convinced that the organisation fits into the criteria for being under the Right to Information Act.

“When the Central Information Commission has declared six national political parties as public authority, the Election Commission cannot take a position contrary to that unless the order of the CIC has been overturned by the Supreme Court or High Courts. The order of EC has no merit,” former Chief Information Commissioner A.N. Tiwari told PTI.

Venkatesh Nayak, a noted RTI activist, said the public information officer of the Election Commission has exceeded his limits in giving this order. “The June 2013 order of the CIC bringing six national political parties under the RTI Act remains in force even if the political parties do not obey it. It has not been stayed or set aside by any court. Therefore, as far as national political parties are concerned they are squarely covered under the RTI Act,” Mr. Nayak said.

He added that all the information about State and national parties, which is held by the Election Commission of India fall under the RTI Act and the CPIO is bound to make disclosure about them rather than taking position that these political parties are out of the purview of the RTI Act.

When contacted over phone about the controversial statement in the order, Mr. Wilfred said he meant that not all political parties are covered under the RTI Act. But when asked that the RTI appeal pertained to the six political parties which are under the RTI Act, as per the CIC order, he did not give any explanation except to say that the DoPT has issued an order that when an RTI plea pertains to multiple public authorities, it is not compulsory to transfer the question to them.

However, the order signed by him does not mention this. He had, however, transferred a question related to meeting held with political parties on the issue of electoral bonds to the Finance Ministry.

The byelection in the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra on Monday witnessed a turnout of 46.5%, amid widespread allegations of malfunctioning of EVMs and VVPATs.

Throughout the day, Opposition parties cried foul play demanding a thorough probe. Officials cited reasons such as increase in temperature, sensitivity of sensors of VVPAT machines towards light and dust for technical snags, which resulted in halting of polling.

On Monday morning, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) president and MLA Hitendra Thakur was the first to level allegations of malfunctioning. “I received reports from our workers that there were many locations where voting machines had developed problems. This is suspicious. The BJP is trying to demoralise our early morning voters by these tactics,” said Mr. Thakur.

By 10 a.m. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant put the list of booths where the party suspected malfunctioning of EVMs. The list included Tarapur, Shelwali, Kamare, Satpati, Maykhop, Dhuktan, and Chinchan polling centres in Palghar.

The Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai submitted a complaint to Palghar Collector Prashant Narnavare regarding malfunctioning of over 98 VVPAT machines. “Everyone knows that how these machines are suddenly developing faults. These EVMs are their only hope to win. These large-scale technical issues are suspicious,” said Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) too accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of foul play in the election. “The polling process is being halted at places where the BJP is not gaining votes. It has been done deliberately,” said NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik.

A total of 4,246 EVMs and 5,360 VVPAT machines were used in two bypolls in Maharashtra. Reacting to the reports of malfunctioning of EVMs and VVPATs, Dr. Narnavare said VVPATs being sensitive to light, dust and heat, some problems were reported from different areas.

Opposition parties have demanded re-polling in all the booths where EVMs have shown problems. But the Election Commission of India denied the charge saying that all the faulty EVMs have been replaced and there was no need for a repoll. Counting will be held on May 31.

With 53% turnout and amid tight security, the Assembly by-poll in Jokihat passed off peacefully on Monday. Barring four booths where voters boycotted the poll over local issues, no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the constituency.

With deployment of police and paramilitary forces at all 331 polling booths, the district administration ensured free and fair election in the constituency.

At booth nos 215, 215(A), 216 and 216(A) under Mahalgaon police station limits, people did not vote, demanding construction of road and bridges damaged in their area during floods last year.

The by-poll was necessitated after the sitting MLA Sarfaraj Alam vacated the seat to contest the Araria Lok Sabha by-poll.

The Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of Mr. Alam’s father and RJD MP Mohd Taslimuddin.

Earlier, Mohd Taslimuddin had represented the Jokihat Assembly seat five times while his second son Sarfaraj Alam had bagged the seat four times.

The ruling party JD(U) fielded former village head Murshid Alam while the Opposition put up Shahnawaj Alam, younger brother of Sarfaraj Alam in the constituency.

A total of nine candidates were in the fray but the main contest was between the RJD and JD(U).

Nearly 70% of the voters in the constituency are from the minority community. Among the rest Hindu voters from the OBC (Other Backward Class) Mandal and Yadav castes are dominant.

Banking on its traditional M-Y (Muslims and Yadav) voters and his family’s political legacy, the RJD candidate Shahnawaj Alam appeared confident of winning the seat while, the JD(U) candidate, despite his criminal past, is banking on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s development agenda to bag the seat.

The result will be out on May 31. Leader of the Opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that Mr. Nitish Kumar was “playing all dirty tricks to influence the elections but still will face defeat.”

53% in Tharali

Over 53% polling was recorded in the bypolls to the Tharali Assembly seat in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. By the end of the day, 53.43% voters had cast their votes, District Information Officer in charge of the election control room, G.S. Bisht, said. Though largely peaceful, the bypoll was boycotted at Devsari village in the Dewal area by voters to protest against their demand for a road not being fulfilled, he said. Polling for the reserved (SC) seat went at a slow pace initially. Only 26 per cent voters had cast their votes by 1 PM. However, it picked up a little late in the afternoon with 40.5 poll percentage recorded by 3 PM, Bisht said.

At present, a voter can apply online by uploading soft copies of documents. The hard copies need to be submitted to the booth-level officer. | Photo Credit: File Photo

With several complaints of duplication of names and usage of improper verification methods during electoral roll revisions, especially in Bengaluru, the Election Commission is likely to bring in reforms to allow people to register as voters more easily. In the process, it is likely to do away with the need to provide hard copies of documents to the booth-level officer (BLO), who is often accused of playing truant, which in turn would result in rejection of the application.

At present, a voter can apply online by uploading soft copies of the supporting documents. The hard copies need to be submitted to the BLO. Several residents’ welfare associations in Bengaluru have accused BLOs of never turning up to collect the hard copies. In fact, they have said that even if they submit the copies at the BBMP office, it is not acknowledged, which would eventually lead to rejection of the application on the grounds that the hard copies were not submitted. Whitefield Rising had brought up this issue before the Election Commission when the summary revision of rolls was being undertaken.

“We are in the process of introducing changes. The BLO will only have to come and verify [the voters]. We hope this will improve the process,” Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar told The Hindu recently. “Verification is generally a problem [in Bengaluru]. Door-to-door survey has been a problem as many multi-storeyed housing complexes do not allow officials to enter.”

Voting percentage

In fact, experts believe that the low percentage of voting — more than 15% lower than the State average — in Bengaluru may not be true because of the anomalies in the electoral rolls, including duplication of names and non-deletion of names of those who are dead and have migrated. Incidentally, Bengaluru has over 90 lakh voters.

Mr. Kumar said: “These problems are generally in urban local bodies. They (BLOs) may not be on the ground. Someone may be nominated because they have too many functions to perform. For the next elections (2019 Lok Sabha polls), we will start working on removing the anomalies in June itself.”

As part of improving the quality of electoral rolls, he said that more non-governmental organisations would be identified and involved in a big way to ensure 100% checking from door to door. “The cleaning of electoral rolls will be for a longer period and human resources will be mobilised early,” he said.

Fresh voting in one polling station in Nagaland parliamentary seat will also take place tomorrow.

In its order the commission said following the confirmed report of malfunctioning of paper trail machines, it has been decided to conduct fresh poll in 73 PSs in Kairana and 49 PSs in Bhandara-Gondiya and one PS in Nagaland.

Separate notifications for the re-poll have been issued in Lucknow, Kohima and Mumbai, official sources said.

Meanwhile, in a statement the official spokesperson of the EC also confirmed that the poll panel has ordered transfer of the Gondiya Collector, who was the returning officer for the polls held on Monday. New Collector has assumed the charge. All preparations for re-poll to be held on May 30, 2018 are in place, it added.

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The officer, whose name has not yet been made known, was the polling officer at polling station in sub-district.
Posted at: May 29, 2018, 12:23 PM; last updated: May 29, 2018, 12:26 PM (IST)

"As per the guidelines, after voting is completed, a special bus is sent to pick up all the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail-Electronic Voting Machines from all the polling centres.

"Each bus has a specific route by which it travels, picks up the machines and takes them to the ARO office. In this case, the laid down procedures were not followed by the concerned officer," Narnaware told IANS.

The officer, whose name has not yet been made known, was the polling officer at polling station in sub-district.
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The Collector concurred that it was indeed "a serious lapse" since, after the voting in any elections, "the EVM-VVPATs are considered sacrosanct" and cannot be moved around anywhere in such an unauthorized manner.After polling ended in the Lok Sabha byelections on Monday night, a polling officer broke protocol and transported the confidential VVPAT-EVMs by his private car to the strongroom, early on Tuesday.

Confirming the incident, Collector said that a report has been received from the election Zonal Office and a detailed investigation has been ordered through by the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) of the area.

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As far as Ministry of Home Affairs is concerned, a multi-pronged strategy has been adopted resulting in marked improvement in the Internal Security across the country. He said the situation in the North East has improved. From 1997 to 2017, thered. From 1997 to 2017, there has been a decline of 85% in incidents and 96% decline in deaths. AFSPA has been withdrawn from Meghalaya and also from some areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Shri Rajnath Singh said there is marked improvement in LWE scenario as well. While 76 districts were affected by LWE violence in 2013, that number has come down to 58 now. In Jammu and Kashmir, our armed forces has successfully eliminated 619 terrorists in four years, compared to 413 terrorists killed during four years of UPA Government for the period 2010-13.

Counting of votes in the bye-elections to 10 Assembly constituencies and four Lok Sabha seats is under way.

While Congress has retained Ampati Assembly seat, ruling parties the Congress, the TMC and the CPI(M) are leading in the bypolls conducted in Punjab, West Bengal and Kerala respectively. The Opposition-backed candidates are leading in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Besides the politically-crucial Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, Lok Sabha bypolls were held in Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar parliamentary constituencies in Maharashtra, and to the Nagaland seat.

Parliamentary constituency: Kairana (Uttar Pradesh)Constituency

Leading candidate and party

Kairana

Tabassum Hasan (RLD)

12:10 p.m.: After 13th round of counting RLD's Tabassum Hasan is leading by over 41,000 votes in Kairana. Her rival candidate from BJP, Mriganka Singh, is lagging behind after initial leads.

11:15 a.m.: At the end of round six, the BJP is leading in Kairana with over 13,000 votes.

9:36 a.m.: After first round BJP stands at 17,724 and RLD at 20,818.

The Kairana bypoll saw a joint Opposition taking on the ruling BJP. The constituency fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka Singh is now the party’s candidate for the bypoll. She is fighting Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) Tabassum Hasan, who is supported by the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

The SP-BSP alliance won the recently concluded bypolls of Phulpur and Gorakhpur parliamentary seats.

Parliamentary constituency: Palghar (Maharashtra)Constituency

Leading candidate and party

Palghar

Rajendra Gavit (BJP)

12:25 p.m.: Rajendra Gavit is leading by 22,015 votes after 17 rounds.

12:20 p.m: At the end of 14th round, the BJP leads by 19,056 votes over its nearest rival Shiv Sena.

12:10 p.m.: In Palghar, Rajendra Gavit is leading by 19742 votes at the end of 12th round.

11:20 a.m.: BJP's lead comes down to 17,411 after Round 10 as Shiv Sena takes lead in last two rounds.

The Palghar bypoll was necessitated following the death of Chintaman Wanga, the sitting BJP MP. It is a five-corner contest in Palghar. While Shrinivas Wanga, the son of late MP Chintaman Wanaga is contesting as Shiv Sena candidate, the BJP named former Congress MLA and minister Rajendra Gavit as their candidate.

In Bhandara-Gondiya, sitting BJP MP Nana Patole quit the post claiming the party wasn't doing anything for farmers. Mr. Patole subsequently joined Congress. However, Congress hasn't fielded a candidate in the bypoll.

It's a direct contest between BJP's Hemant Patle and NCP’s Madhukar Kukde in this constituency.

Parliamentary constituency: NagalandConstituency

Leading candidate and party

Nagaland

Tokheho Yepthomi (NDPP)

11:40 a.m.: The NDPP has polled 1,42,379 votes, over 2000 votes more than rival NPF

9.50 a.m.: Trends show NDPP with 23,364 votes, NPF with 20,849 votes and 63 under NOTA.

Elections were necessitated in the lone Lok Sabha seat of Nagaland after Neiphiu Rio gave up his parliamentary post to become the state Chief Minister.

It is a two-way contest in Nagaland between Mr. Rio's NDPP and the opposition NPF. The NDPP is part of the NDA.

Assembly constituency: Noorpur (Uttar Pradesh)Constituency

Leading candidate and party

Noorpur

Naeem Ul Hasan (SP)

12:10 p.m.: The Samajwadi Party has established a clear lead of over 10,000 votes in Noorpur Assembly.

10.05 a.m.: After Round 3, BJP gets 8,984 votes, SP gets 12,816.

Noorpur seat fell vacant following the death of BJP member Lokendra Singh. Singh had defeated Niam Ul Hasan by around 12,500 votes in the Assembly elections. Mr. Hasan is hoping to reverse the trend now, while the BJP is fighting to retain its seat.

Assembly constituency: Maheshtala (West Bengal)Constituency

Leading candidate and party

Mahestala

Dulal Chandra Das (TMC)

11:20 a.m.: The ruling Trinamool Congress is all set for record victory at the Maheshtala Assembly by-poll with the party nominee Dulal Das leading by more than 28,000 votes at the completion of the ninth round of counting.

The Maheshtala Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of TMC's Kasturi Das in February. While it appears that the constituency will re-elect the TMC, the fight for the second position looks interesting. The principal opposition party CPI(M) is in a neck-and-neck race with the BJP.

Former chief minister Mukul Sangma vacated Ampati seat after winning from two seats. A win in this constituency is crucial because the difference between the number of seats the ruling coalition head by NPP, and opposition Congress is just 6 seats.

Interestingly Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is still an MP. Another election is imminent in the State.

11:30 a.m.: The RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam has now got a comfortable margin of over 28,000 votes over his rival candidate of JD(U) , Murshid Alam in Jokihat Assembly bypoll.

10.24 a.m.: Taking lead over JD(U) candidate by over 3,000 votes after 8th round in Jokihat by-poll, RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam told local journalists that his victory is confirmed with a big margin and the lead will increase in next rounds.

9:17 a.m.: In first round of counting JD(U) candidate Murshid Alam takes lead over rival RJD candidate Sahanawaj Alam by around 2,000 votes.

Assembly constituency: Shahkot (Punjab)Constituency

Leading candidate and party

Shahkot

Hardev Singh Ladi (Cong.)

12:10 p.m.: At the end of 11th round of counting, Congress is leading with 27,049 votes in Shahkot.

10:45 a.m.: Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi was leading by more than 10,000 votes over his nearest rival, Shiromani Akali Dal nominee Naib Singh Kohar, after five rounds of counting for the Shahkot assembly constituency bypoll, officials said. (PTI)

9:20 a.m.: After counting began at the office of Director Land Records in Jalandhar, Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi is leading by 3,351 votes against his nearest rival Naib Singh Kohar of Shiromani Akali Dal in the Shahkot constituency after completion of two rounds of counting of votes. The counting would be held in 17 rounds, an official said adding that the result was expected to be declared by afternoon.

Assembly constituency: Chengannur (Kerala)Constituency

Leading Candidate and party

Chengannur

Saji Cherian (CPI-M)

10:40 am: Ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) looks set to trounce both the Congress and BJP by a huge margin in the Chengannur Assembly byelection.

As the counting crossed the half way mark, LDF's Saji Cherian (CPI-M) has secured a lead of more than 7000 votes, over 1500 votes more than its victory margin in the 2016 Assembly byelection.

12:00 noon: Congress’ N Muniratna has established an unassailable lead of over 44,000 votes over his nearest BJP rival Tulsi Muniraju Gowda.

11:50 am: At the end of 11th round, Congress leads with 84,908 votes, followed by the BJP with 38,357 votes and the JD(S) with 29519.

It is not a bypoll in R.R. Nagar. The constituency went to polls on May 28 as the Election Commission postponed the election after at least 9,564 EPICs (Electors Photo Identity Cards) were seized from an apartment at Jalahalli.

While the result is not expected to affect the coalition government in Karnataka — both Congress and JD(S) are contesting the election after talks fell through — a loss for either the JD(S) or the Congress could give the BJP a fillip in its political attack against the “unholy alliance”.

Assembly constituency: Palus Kadegaon (Maharashtra)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on May 14, withdrew its candidate for the Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in Sangli district, paving the way for Youth Congress president Dr. Vishwajeet Kadam to be elected unopposed.

Assembly constituency: Gomia, Silli (Jharkhand)Constituency

Leading Candidate and party

Gomia

Madhavlal Singh (BJP)

Silli

Seema Mahto (JMM)

12:20 p.m: BJP candidate Madavlal Singh is leading by over 6,000 votes after six rounds of counting over AJSU candidate Lambodar Mahto in Gomia assembly seat.

In Silli, AJSU president Sudesh Mahto is leading over 1,000 votes against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Seema Devi. JMM candidate was leading till fifth round.

10:40 a.m.: JMM candidate Seema Mahto is leading over his AJSU president Sudesh Mahto by 3,900 votes in Silli Assembly seat after fifth round of counting.

The bypoll in both Gomia and Silli Assembly seats were necessitated following conviction of Yogendra Mahto (Gomia) and Amit Mahto (Silli) who won on JMM tickets in the last Assembly elections.

Re-poll conducted on May 30
Repolling at 123 stations was held on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana, Maharashtra’s Bhandara-Gondia and the Nagaland Parliamentary constituency, on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI's) directions.

While fresh polls at the 73 stations in Kairana and 49 in Bhandara-Gondia were ordered after a large number of VVPATs and some EVMs developed glitches during the bypolls on Monday, it was also conducted at one booth in Nagaland where a mob had damaged the EVM.

Bye-elections marred by VVPAT glitches
Polling in the bye-elections were marred by reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in many booths, especially in Kairana and Bhandra-Gondiya.

The EC responded to the reports saying that the claims of large-scale malfunctioning were an “exaggerated projection of reality”. But the Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh, also admitted in a statement that the Commission received complaints of malfunctioning of VVPAT machines from 384 polling stations in Kairana following which replacement machines were used. This caused delays in polling in more than a few places.

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Counting of votes in the by-elections to 10 Assembly constituencies and four Lok Sabha seats are on.

While the BJP has retained Palghar parliamentary seat, it is trailing in Kairana and Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha constituencies. The NDPP is all set to win the lone parliamentary seat of Nagaland with a humongous margin of over one lakh votes.

The RJD has tasted victory in State bypoll for the third consecutive time by winning Jokihat seat. A jubilant Tejaswi Yadav — son of Lalu Prasad and Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly — said "laluism" has defeated opportunism, referring to JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar.

The Congress has retained the Ampati Assembly seat in Meghalaya. The ruling parties of Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Kerala — the Congress, the BJP, the TMC and the CPI(M) — have won the bypolls conducted in their respective States. The JMM, too, has retained its two seats.

3:30 p.m.: "The BJP's defeat in its own laboratory is the defeat of their divisive politics," says Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. "This is the victory of the people who believe in peace and unity and the beginning of the end of the arrogance of power," he adds.

1:00 p.m.: At the end of 14th round of counting, the RLD candidate has polled 3,60,821 votes, 43,631 votes more than BJP's Mriganka Singh.

12:10 p.m.: After 13th round of counting RLD's Tabassum Hasan is leading by over 41,000 votes in Kairana. Her rival candidate from BJP, Mriganka Singh, is lagging behind after initial leads.

11:15 a.m.: At the end of round six, the BJP is leading in Kairana with over 13,000 votes.

9:36 a.m.: After first round BJP stands at 17,724 and RLD at 20,818.

The Kairana bypoll saw a joint Opposition taking on the ruling BJP. The constituency fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka Singh is now the party’s candidate for the bypoll. She is fighting Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) Tabassum Hasan, who is supported by the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

The SP-BSP alliance won the recently concluded bypolls of Phulpur and Gorakhpur parliamentary seats.

2:20 p.m.: BJP is set to win Palghar as its candidate leads by around 28,000 votes after round 28

1:30 pm: BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit says: "I quit Congress and join the BJP not for power but for development, and now that election trends show me as a winner, I assure that I will fulfill each and every promise made to the people."

12:25 p.m.: Rajendra Gavit is leading by 22,015 votes after 17 rounds.

12:20 p.m: At the end of 14th round, the BJP leads by 19,056 votes over its nearest rival Shiv Sena.

12:10 p.m.: In Palghar, Rajendra Gavit is leading by 19742 votes at the end of 12th round.

11:20 a.m.: BJP's lead comes down to 17,411 after Round 10 as Shiv Sena takes lead in last two rounds.

The Palghar bypoll was necessitated following the death of Chintaman Wanga, the sitting BJP MP. It is a five-corner contest in Palghar. While Shrinivas Wanga, the son of late MP Chintaman Wanaga is contesting as Shiv Sena candidate, the BJP named former Congress MLA and minister Rajendra Gavit as their candidate.

The NCP, Congress and CPI(M) are also contesting the bypolls.

Parliamentary constituency: Bhandara-Gondiya (Maharashtra)Constituency
Leading candidate and party

Bhandara-Gondiya

Madhukar Kukade (NCP)

2:00 p.m.: As per the latest tally, the NCP leading by 20,583 votes.

1:15 pm: The NCP is leading but the margin has been reduced a little over 16,500 votes.

12:50 pm.: At the end of third round of counting, NCP candidate Madhukar Kukde is leading with 51,279 votes while the BJP’s Hemant Patle is at second place with 48,382 votes.

11:15 a.m.: NCP leads by over 12,000 votes in Bhandara-Gondiya

In Bhandara-Gondiya, sitting BJP MP Nana Patole quit the post claiming the party wasn't doing anything for farmers. Mr. Patole subsequently joined Congress. However, Congress hasn't fielded a candidate in the bypoll.

It's a direct contest between BJP's Hemant Patle and NCP’s Madhukar Kukde in this constituency.

Parliamentary constituency: NagalandConstituency

Leading candidate and party

Nagaland

Tokheho Yepthomi (NDPP)

2:30 p.m.: NDPP's Tokheho Yepthomi's victory almost certain with lead over NPF's C. Apok Jamir crossing 100,000. The NPF candidate is the son of former Nagaland CM and former Odisha Governor SC Jamir.

2:05 p.m: Tokheho Yepthomi has established a humongous lead of over one lakh votes. The NDPP has polled 4,48,734 votes while the NPF got 3,37,618 votes so far.

1:50 p.m.: The NDPP is leading by 87,466 votes. The NPF has polled 3,15,219 votes so far.

11:40 a.m.: The NDPP has polled 1,42,379 votes, over 2000 votes more than rival NPF

9.50 a.m.: Trends show NDPP with 23,364 votes, NPF with 20,849 votes and 63 under NOTA.

Elections were necessitated in the lone Lok Sabha seat of Nagaland after Neiphiu Rio gave up his parliamentary post to become the state Chief Minister.

It is a two-way contest in Nagaland between Mr. Rio's NDPP and the opposition NPF. The NDPP is part of the NDA.

Assembly constituency: Noorpur (Uttar Pradesh)Constituency

Leading candidate and party

Noorpur

Naeem Ul Hasan (SP)

12:10 p.m.: The Samajwadi Party has established a clear lead of over 10,000 votes in Noorpur Assembly.

10.05 a.m.: After Round 3, BJP gets 8,984 votes, SP gets 12,816.

Noorpur seat fell vacant following the death of BJP member Lokendra Singh. Singh had defeated Niam Ul Hasan by around 12,500 votes in the Assembly elections. Mr. Hasan is hoping to reverse the trend now, while the BJP is fighting to retain its seat.

Assembly constituency: Maheshtala (West Bengal)Constituency

Winning candidate and party

Mahestala

Dulal Chandra Das (TMC)

11:20 a.m.: The ruling Trinamool Congress is all set for record victory at the Maheshtala Assembly by-poll with the party nominee Dulal Das leading by more than 28,000 votes at the completion of the ninth round of counting.

The Maheshtala Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of TMC's Kasturi Das in February. While it appears that the constituency will re-elect the TMC, the fight for the second position looks interesting. The principal opposition party CPI(M) is in a neck-and-neck race with the BJP.

Tharali is again a two-way contest between the arch-rivals Congress and the BJP.

Assembly constituency: Ampati (Meghalaya)Constituency

Winning candidate and party

Ampati

Miani D. Shira (Cong.)

11:55 a.m.: Here is the final tally. Congress: 14259, NPP: 11068, Independent: 360, NOTA: 208. With this win, Congress has emerged as the largest party in Meghalaya. Ms. Shira's win has taken Congress tally to 21 — one seat more than ruling NPP.

Former chief minister Mukul Sangma vacated Ampati seat after winning from two seats. A win in this constituency is crucial because the difference between the number of seats the ruling coalition head by NPP, and opposition Congress is just 6 seats.

Interestingly Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is still an MP. Another election is imminent in the State.

“The chief minister himself and over half of his cabinet ministers and close aides were involved in campaign for the JD(U) candidate in Jokihat but ultimately Laluism defeated opportunism there”, said Mr. Yadav.

“Its just a trailer as the full picture remains to be seen”, Mr Yadav added further.

1:15 am: At the end of final round of counting, Shahnawaz Alam extended the lead margin to 41,225. The RJD has won Jokihat. This is the third bypoll win for RJD.

11:30 a.m.: The RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam has now got a comfortable margin of over 28,000 votes over his rival candidate of JD(U) , Murshid Alam in Jokihat Assembly bypoll.

10.24 a.m.: Taking lead over JD(U) candidate by over 3,000 votes after 8th round in Jokihat by-poll, RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam told local journalists that his victory is confirmed with a big margin and the lead will increase in next rounds.

9:17 a.m.: In first round of counting JD(U) candidate Murshid Alam takes lead over rival RJD candidate Sahanawaj Alam by around 2,000 votes.

Assembly constituency: Shahkot (Punjab)Constituency

Winning candidate and party

Shahkot

Hardev Singh Ladi (Cong.)

2:00 p.m.: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh says, "People of Shahkot have given a massive thumbs up to the development policies ruling Congress government in Punjab.

"Akali Dal never worked for Shahkot even though the people gave them many opportunities. Aam Aadmi Party decimation will be complete with this humiliating defeat.

12:45 p.m.: “The people of Punjab, especially voters of Shahkot, have once again put their stamp of approval on the policies of the Punjab government under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh. They have also shown the Akali Dal their place,” Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar tells reporters in Jalandhar.

12:10 p.m.: At the end of 11th round of counting, Congress is leading with 27,049 votes in Shahkot.

10:45 a.m.: Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi was leading by more than 10,000 votes over his nearest rival, Shiromani Akali Dal nominee Naib Singh Kohar, after five rounds of counting for the Shahkot assembly constituency bypoll, officials said. (PTI)

9:20 a.m.: After counting began at the office of Director Land Records in Jalandhar, Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi is leading by 3,351 votes against his nearest rival Naib Singh Kohar of Shiromani Akali Dal in the Shahkot constituency after completion of two rounds of counting of votes. The counting would be held in 17 rounds, an official said adding that the result was expected to be declared by afternoon.

The Shahkot bypoll was necessitated by the death of Akali MLA Ajit Singh Kohar, Naib Singh Kohar’s father, in February this year. Shahkot has been an SAD bastion. It has elected SAD representatives for the past 20 years.

Assembly constituency: Chengannur (Kerala)Constituency

Winning Candidate and party

Chengannur

Saji Cherian (CPI-M)

Saji Cherian

10:40 am: Ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) looks set to trounce both the Congress and BJP by a huge margin in the Chengannur Assembly byelection.

As the counting crossed the half way mark, LDF's Saji Cherian (CPI-M) has secured a lead of more than 7000 votes, over 1500 votes more than its victory margin in the 2016 Assembly byelection.

2:00 p.m.: N. Muniratna of Congress has won R.R. Nagar, taking the party's tally at the Vidan Sabha to 79.

12:00 noon: Congress’ N Muniratna has established an unassailable lead of over 44,000 votes over his nearest BJP rival Tulsi Muniraju Gowda.

11:50 am: At the end of 11th round, Congress leads with 84,908 votes, followed by the BJP with 38,357 votes and the JD(S) with 29519.

It is not a bypoll in R.R. Nagar. The constituency went to polls on May 28 as the Election Commission postponed the election after at least 9,564 EPICs (Electors Photo Identity Cards) were seized from an apartment at Jalahalli.

While the result is not expected to affect the coalition government in Karnataka — both Congress and JD(S) are contesting the election after talks fell through — a loss for either the JD(S) or the Congress could give the BJP a fillip in its political attack against the “unholy alliance”.

Assembly constituency: Palus Kadegaon (Maharashtra)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on May 14, withdrew its candidate for the Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in Sangli district, paving the way for Youth Congress president Dr. Vishwajeet Kadam to be elected unopposed.

10:40 a.m.: JMM candidate Seema Mahto is leading over his AJSU president Sudesh Mahto by 3,900 votes in Silli Assembly seat after fifth round of counting.

The bypoll in both Gomia and Silli Assembly seats were necessitated following conviction of Yogendra Mahto (Gomia) and Amit Mahto (Silli) who won on JMM tickets in the last Assembly elections.

Re-poll conducted on May 30
Repolling at 123 stations was held on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana, Maharashtra’s Bhandara-Gondia and the Nagaland Parliamentary constituency, on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI's) directions.

While fresh polls at the 73 stations in Kairana and 49 in Bhandara-Gondia were ordered after a large number of VVPATs and some EVMs developed glitches during the bypolls on Monday, it was also conducted at one booth in Nagaland where a mob had damaged the EVM.

Bye-elections marred by VVPAT glitches
Polling in the bye-elections were marred by reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in many booths, especially in Kairana and Bhandra-Gondiya.

The EC responded to the reports saying that the claims of large-scale malfunctioning were an “exaggerated projection of reality”. But the Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh, also admitted in a statement that the Commission received complaints of malfunctioning of VVPAT machines from 384 polling stations in Kairana following which replacement machines were used. This caused delays in polling in more than a few places.